It's been more than 20 years in the making but officials say the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is halfway done.

The deepening of the entrance channel to the Savannah River is nearly complete.

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"The completion of outer harbor dredging marks the midpoint for SHEP and represents a crucial milestone for the Savannah community, the State of Georgia and the nation as a whole," said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. "The Port of Savannah is already the second busiest port in the nation for exports and the timely completion of this project will be a major step forward for our nation's infrastructure. To ensure that SHEP remains on schedule, my FY 2018 budget proposal calls for $35 million in additional support for the project."

Six to eight dredges have been on the south entrance channel every day dredging non-stop and pumping hundreds of yards of material with each load.

"It sails back, connects back to this pipeline, dumps on the island, and does the same thing over and over deepening the harbor," said Armand Riehl, project manager.

The result is the the deepening of the harbor all the way to Fort Pulaski and the South Channel Savannah River.

The first half of the project deepened the outer harbor to 49 feet at low tide.

The inner harbor channel will be expanded from its current low-tide depth, 42 feet, to 47 feet.

The reason? To make room for larger cargo vessels.

"That's why you're deepening. When you have the deeper water, you can load that ship with more exports, lower in the water, " said James McCurry, Jr. of Georgia Ports.

The U.S. Army Corps of engineers still needs to get a contractor for one of the final pieces of the project -- the inner harbor.

"It's incrementally funded, and so the pace that we accomplish to complete this total project will depend on the pace of that federal funding, " said Col. Marvin Griffin.

SHEP recently received $49 million in President Trump's FY 2018 budget request to Congress. Georgia's congressional delegation is working to increase funding to $100 million per year, the amount needed to complete the project in a timely manner, officials said.

Griffin says even when federal funds aren't appropriated they will continue to keep the project going.

He says they hope to have it complete by January 2022 at the latest.

A study by the Corps of Engineers estimates that once the project is complete, the deepening of the harbor will result in a net benefit of $282 million in transportation savings for shippers and consumers per year.

According to the Corps' benefit-to-cost ratio, each dollar spent on construction will yield $7.30 in net benefits to the nation's economy.

“Reaching the midpoint of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is an exciting and critical milestone for not only the project, but for the entire state and nation,” said Representative Earl L. “Buddy” Carter of Georgia’s First Congressional District. “With a return on investment of 7.3 to 1, every step closer to completion is a step closer to realizing the full economic impact this project will have on the nation and the world. I am proud to represent the fastest growing port in the country in the United States Congress, and I will continue to fight to ensure the federal government meets its obligation to this top infrastructure project.”